A ‘For The Record’ Discussion On Post Malone’s Complicated Relationship With Hip-Hop

Both of Post Malone’s studio albums, Stoney and beerbongs & bentleys, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart, but his relationship with hip-hop has always been complicated. In addition to bringing elements of R&B and rock music into his music, Post has distanced himself from the genre and criticized it for lacking emotional depth. On the latest episode of For The Record, Genius' Head of Artist Relations Rob Markman sat down with Rap Radar’s Naji Grampus, BuzzFeed reporter Sylvia Obell, and culture critic Cory Townes to discuss Post Malone’s half-hearted embrace of hip-hop.

To kick off the conversation, Grampus says he is wary of Post Malone taking advantage of black culture. “Throughout the course of American history, we’ve seen white people take claim to black ideas and black culture and monetize it,” he explains. “That’s happened, that’s a real thing. And me as somebody in hip-hop, I’m cognizant of that and I can’t let that rock. I don’t think that’s cool just to be able to flip-flop and jump back in between cultures.”

Obell weighs in with a similar perspective. “I think that white artists have a history of being able to move into whatever’s the most popular genre,” she explains. “My favorite thing about Post Malone is that he’s not calling himself a hip-hop artist… Thank you for acknowledging that you are not a hip-hop artist. I think that he is an artist who has played with and benefited from the things that mainstream culture likes about hip-hop.”

Meanwhile, Townes says the most important thing for an artist that benefits from hip-hop is to acknowledge its influence on their music. “I would never want to put a creative in a box. I think there’s no problem with finding your lane in other things,” he says. “By all means, find the sound that you want to do. But don’t shit on what got you here.”